Recently I've been thinking a lot about how I interact on HIVE. I've been here for nearly seven years, which is just crazy, and that's not without a lot of hard work, heart ache, stress, joy, apathy, boredom, thrill, motivation and depression! And perhaps a bit of mania. Ah, how HIVE mirrors real life, right?
The conversation on HIVE of late has been about those who have invested and stayed invested by staking their HIVE, and those who are still active but have very little HIVE in their wallets, and those in between. Is it right to sell all your stake, but still be here? If we were truly invested, shouldn't we stake at all costs? How much benefit do we gain from selling, and how much reward would we get from staking everything, all the time? Should people who have taken out all their HIVE be penalized through non voting?
The thing is, on paper, HIVE is a place where you can earn some crypto through your interactions here and benefit. I've seen people in poorer countries be able to feed their families because of HIVE or even buy a phone or farm equipment which they never would have been able to do if they weren't earning on HIVE. Personally, I've had a little bit of success by selling HIVE at just the right time to swap for Bitcoin, then watched that fly up so I could pay off the little bit of mortgage I had left. It wasn't a lot, but it was something massive - as anyone who finally pays of their mortgage will know.
For others here, it's just not worth it to power down for small amounts of money. It can be a fairly insignificant amount for those with a decent real world wage or investments. It's easy for them to say we should hold on to our stake at all costs when they aren't on the poverty line. In some countries, a few HIVE can mean a loaf of bread to feed their families.
I've hovered my finger more than once over the 'power down' button, and I've powered down and then powered it back up again. Sometimes I just worry that all the HIVE I've worked hard for will devalue that much that it's useless. Because it is nice seeing a little nest egg there, even if it's at it's low at the moment (not worth cashing out for imo - and don't forget, it's been this low before and we all regretted not buying any.) I'm not rich by Australian standards, but I'm not broke either, so if I power down it will be because I think it's a good investment, or I'm so over the whole thing I want to quit.
Given I haven't quit in 7 years, I'm unlikely to do that now.
I stay because I really love the place - I like writing, and I like engaging with others. It's a global community like no other. That sounds like a line but it's the truth - that's why I keep coming back. I love running the HIVE Garden community and helping others feel supported, and feel like that it's a worthwhile place to stay. Of course, there's things I don't like about it, but I don't think it's worth talking about it here as I'd rather focus on the positive. And things have changed a LOT since Steem days. Remember the bidbots? They were fun until they weren't. Some people profited massively from that at the expensive of others.
I don't pay a lot of attention to the HIVE price as I've seen it go up and down many times before. How many times have we regretted not buying more at .17 when it goes up to .60? Hive isn't going to die. It hasn't yet. In fact, in many ways it's just got better, despite the current price..
I do think it's important to be encouraging and positive, and think about what non-Hiver see when they come on chain. I see old players with only small stakes left come in and write really good articles when they have time or headspace and they are also good for us. I love seeing them there and they definitely should be rewarded for the quality of the piece, not because of past wallet behavior. Downvoting them or ignoring them does not look good from an outsiders perspective. It's also not very encouraging when someone decides to come back and get involved and are judged for powering down or disappearing.
I do think it's a better strategy to make an effort to make people feel valued so they stick around. We gently nudge people's poor behaviour to highlight what we expect here, and boot the dickheads out (mostly).
I read somewhere - maybe on a comment on @azircon's recent post, I can't remember now - that we certainly have the freedom to act as an individual by profiting from HIVE, but that we actually stand to gain far more as an individual if we act to advance and benefit the community.
I can't help but think of a character in the Zac Snyder remake of 'Dawn of the Dead', the one where they are in a shopping mall. Tensions rise as resources become scarce. There's a moment when one of the characters, who's wealthy and self-serving, hides supplies for himself rather than sharing with fellow survivors. When the group finally decides to make a run for it to escape the mall, he is left behind, and is overwhelmed by zombies. The moral of the story is don't be an asshole thinking only of yourself. Short sided greed isn't in the individual interest as much as it's not in the group interest.
We see this in a wealth of disaster and survival films - selfishness in a community leads to individual downfall, and cooperation and shared effort are essential for survival.
It's why the people who've been around here for a while, investing in the system, feel a bit guilty when they power down, even though for the most part, they're making good individual choices - buying their kids school shoes, paying the electricity bill, swapping it for an alt coin they think is about to go up, and so on.
We know when we're all invested, we all do better. The shelter is built. The moat is dug. The cellar can be filled with food for all.
The positive thing about the conversations on HIVE lately is that we all seem able to acknowledge that individual actions can be justified to a point, and we don't need to entirely judge people against our own standards, but ultimately, individual efforts to invest their stake on HIVE will have more benefits for all of us in the long run.
Investment in HIVE isn't just about YOUR survival. It's about everyone's.
So yeah. Power up, y'all. I have set myself a new goal for this year - to hit 50 K HIVE. Watch this space.
With Love,
Are you on HIVE yet? Earn for writing! Referral link for FREE account here
I am nearing the seven-year mark as well, in November I think. To think that I have been here for so long. In those olden days, I still remember the email I received that my account was created and someone gave me some contributions so that I could start posting. Comparing my posts from back then, and even my photography, to today, is just on two different levels. For me personally, Hive has been such an important factor in helping my skills grow. Before the seven-year journey started, I was about to lay my camera to rest - there was nothing I could do with my photography; my friends who were rich had all the good tech and they did wedding shoots etc. So, I was about to lay the thing down and bury the idea of photography (I was not on any of the other socials at that time as well so no need to pass there). Anyway, long story short, without Hive I would never have developed these personal skills.
Sorry for the long biographical spiel.
What I basically wanted to say, Hive is incredible for so many reasons, investing in yourself is one of those often overlooked aspects; teaching you life skills that contemporary society somehow lost along the way.
Anway, long comment over! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, was good to read them along with all the others who have written about this in the last three or so days.
I'm glad you stick around. I think a lot of us got to finely hone creative skills here because we got to share them! For me it was writing fiction, but there's tons of creative projects I wouldn't have done if it wasn't for HIVE!
That is for sure! It is an incredible space for sharing one's talents.
I just had my eight anniversary on July 5th. What a ride those past eight years have been! The platform has evolved a lot since the beginning, in good ways and bad. I was lucky enough to be around for that first really lucrative year (2016) and it completely changed my life. I was able to quit my job, write full time, travel, pay off debts. It was a dream come true.
My posts earn very little now, I'm lucky to break $10 (author portion) on most of my posts. I'm not complaining. Even still, this is more than I'm making on any other social media platform, by far. I've stayed here on Hive because I value the people I've met over the years. This is no exaggeration, if I miss more than a few days of interaction I miss it. I try to consistently post high quality content because it's good practice and it's made me a much better writer.
I, personally, think what people do with the proceeds of their posts is their business. So many of us early content creators cashed out huge amounts in the early days and if we were demonized and punished for doing that there would be none of us left here today. I've always believed that people who add real value to the Hive community should be compensated in direct proportion to the value they add. How do we define value? I think each individual has a slightly different definition of value but if each person made it a point to reward the accounts that entertain them and make them think I think it would collectively increase the overall content quality overtime. I think this is the responsibility of each of us who care about Hive to make sure that happens. Sometimes value is added not only from content but from genuine engagement as well. I enjoy interacting with people who I know have really read my content.
On the flip side, there have always been those scammy accounts who are just trying to game the system. These are the ones who damage the Hive community the most, IMHO. Crypto has a bad enough reputation in the eyes of the mainstream as it is but these scammy accounts are only reinforcing those stereotypes and they discourage those who are making an honest effort. About 25% of the comments I received on my posts are from people I can tell haven't even read my posts. This is partially my fault because, early on, I started upvoting comments but from here on out I think I'm going to not do that anymore if I can tell someone hasn't even read what I wrote.
I guess my point is on a decentralized platform without a higher authority directing the evolution, it's up to each of us to enhance and maintain and protect the integrity of this platform. We can do this with our posts but we also do it with each vote and each comment. I really enjoyed this post and I think it's an important conversation not only to have but to keep going!
Oh for those golden years! I just missed that by a hairs breadth.
It does wind me up that some authors here get double at least just for being part of some inner sanctum. There's certainly an argument for fairer reward distribution and I know a few people try to adjust that with DV but never on the inner circle. I try not to pay much attention to that and, like you, appreciate what we do get, with the (very) occasional better upvote (like this post). Remember this massive Curie upvote?
The problem with value s you say is so arbitrary. If the large account holders don't value literature, then every time we write fiction, we know we won't get rewarded as highly, even though it can be relatively more labour intensive. Back in the Natural Medicine days, we found we weren't as well supported because people thought it was woo hoo, though we were trying to support legit complementary medicine like meditation, yoga and herbalism. So yeah, what's valuable has always been problematic here.
Oh man I get SO assy with that, haha. A while ago someone said I didn't need to respond to every comment. Light bulb moment!! I just ignore them now unless I'm in a mood and then I give them a stern talking to hahaha.
Yes, yes, yes. I find that with real life too. You just gotta do the right thing in YOUR corner in the hope other people will do same. There's a solid bunch of people with integrity that keep me here. I'm glad you are one of them. 💖
For once in my life I was in the right place at the right time. I hope you get to experience this. The key usually is being an early adopter. Have you heard of Panjea? It's a new social media platform built on the AlephZero blockchain. It's still in the testing-phase but you can sign up and be amongst the first users. Most of these projects fizzle out but you never know!
Yes, the whale-voting cabals have been a thing since the beginning but I'm sure they've changed throughout the years. It used to be that most whales/witnesses really curated their voting lists and just didn't put them on "autopilot" to be exploited. I'm not sure how it is now though. I haven't gotten consistently substantial payouts since 2018 or so. Every now and then I'll get a few larger upvotes but it doesn't happen much at all anymore. I do remember the Curie vote! There were a few like that and it was exciting when you were chosen.
You're right. I guess the real problem with the "perceived value" proposition I described is only a handful of accounts carry enough voting weight to make a real difference. I see some posts with massive numbers of votes but small payouts and vice versa. I suppose there is the same profound inequality here as there is in the real world. I think the creation of communities were an attempt to help mitigate that inequality but the communities will take time to build up their wallets.
The fake/disingenious comments really irk me, probably more than anything else on the platform right now. They harm the legitimacy of Hive more than most people realize. I guess I've been too nice about it. I always second guess if people have language barriers and are really making an honest effort. I imagine if they're not bots they'll disappear shortly after the comment upvotes stop.
Thanks, I feel the same way. There are a handful of people (you amongst them) who keep me around here. I don't post nearly as often as I used to but if I'm away for more than a handful of days Hive calls me back. Mainstream social media is so ruled by algorithms and ads now that post visibility is almost non-existent unless you pay for outreach or spend most of your waking hours interacting on the platforms so I appreciate that at least our writing is being seen.
Hi, I think staking Hive is essential at least until the price reaches a new high and then sell to buy on the dip, nice post my friend.👍👍👍
Well - it it hit $2 again I'd probably take a profit thanks!
I've also been around for 6+ years now and just love the platform for what it offers as a product. I've never done a powerdown and just used the HBD not really minding much what the price or the platform for all care does at this point.
It does feel different between the old days where there was a lot more excitement and initiative around it. In the end, it does feel like the entire model has too many fundamental flaws to break out of a zone where it's just for a niche audience.
Look, I kinda agree there. It's always going to be niche. I'd be happier if it was up around $1 niche, but still. I have seen a lot of improvements over time but there's some inherent flaws that I cant see the answer to, perhaps because the big stake holders can't really be argued with unless you want to risk being DVd out of existence!
I have also been here for just over seven years. I am making slow progress. But that doesn't even matter that much to me. I want to mention that I am just a blogger, not a very good one. But I have tried many things online in the last twenty years. And I can only say one thing (I've mentioned this elsewhere): there is no better place in the known universe for blogging than Hive.
Gosh, how have we not met?
Maybe in a previous life. 😎 !INDEED
(2/5)
@riverflows! @seckorama Totally agrees with your content! so I just sent 1 IDD to your account on behalf of @seckorama.
It's encouraging and inspiring knowing that there are many people here since the dawn of Hive and they're still here, engaging and powering up. It's a very good sign of strenght of this community and makes me hope for the best 😊
I'm not a crypto fanatic, so I don't feel disapproving cashing out some Hive. I think - as always - that balance is the right approach. It's not good to cash out every bit of Hive you get, thinking about gettin rich with this (spoiler, you don't). But it's not so bad to power down every now and then if you need a few bucks. Otherwise, why we're talking about this at all? If cashing out is so bad, just take away the power down, right? No, we are here because growing that number makes us feel more useful and validated, and that's good 👍🏻
Agreed!
Great summary also of my thoughts in this post, very well written.
I'm not even a year on hive but I must say it's inspiring to hear from people like you who have been on the Blockchain for a long period of time. It makes me feel like I'm in the right place.
I love writing and engaging with other writers. So, I also don't see myself leaving hive anytime soon
Yay!
Good luck with 50k, that's an impressive goal (though a brief, impolite glance tells me it sounds achievable :D).
I don't think it's right to penalize people for powering down. It's not your money, and most of the time, people seem to PD when they really need it in real life. I get growing the ecosystem, and I'm doing my bit as and where I can, but at the same time, we can't forget it's that desire for a little something extra to fall back on in hard times that brought many of us here in the first place. I think it'd be crazy to now say "no, you can't take it out, otherwise you're betraying everyone".
The point to me is financial freedom, both in the obvious sense and in the, you do what you want with your money and I'll do the same sense.
Ha, it's not impolite. There's a LOT of wallet gazing going on at the moment.
I am in agreeance with you on penalizing people. It does worry me. I have seen posts from people I like here talk about rewarding people MORE for staying powered up which seems elitist to me.
But at the same time, if you can afford to, it's worth thinking hard what a power down might do to the system and whether it's really, really worth it or whether by holding on, we can maintain what we have here. I would miss it if it was gone.
Sounds like it would create a bubble (even more than we already have): only the users who aren't broke or in some way depend on their HIVE can afford to commit to that, rewarding them more makes them richer, while keeping the poor ones poor. How does that help anyone?
That's what's got me confused. I thought most people on here who could afford it and who had been around long enough to care about the ecosystem were doing it already.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a group. (African proverb) We are a group.
Your writing is always a pleasure to read.
Expressing emotions through writing and getting rewarded has a different charm all together.
I've been here a little over seven years. You articulate well what I feel myself.
Good stuff!
The potential for investment in $HIVE looks like more and more of a crap shoot. With so much opinion flagging and automated bots, what could make a person want to park any funds here?
Posted via blog.d.buzz
Opinion flagging is shocking behavior. It used to be worse, so I feel positive in that regard though. We definitely need to set good examples there. The automated bots are problematic, agreed. Again though they were way worse in Steem days. But there's also a LOT of positives to being here. See some of the comments above.
A lot to digest in a solid post. Been here a little longer - 8 years now plus a few days. Never powered down. Even bought some tokens a long time back selling Bitcoin.
Written a post almost every day since then. Survived the bot time, survived the hard fork. Still writing every day and dreaming about the good old days. My intro post made around 1000 times what happens now. I still remember the dollar value of that post
Maybe I could buy a boat. What really keeps me going is a belief (or hope) that price could go 10X and all that past work gets 10 times more valuable without doing any more work
I read every piece right in your own voice and truly speaking i feel the tension coming from your end, sincerely speaking when you said you just love writing and for the love of hive, the passion, the fun of interacting with others, yah thats pretty much of me too, i see writing as a gift and its just flows from me when writing, and i love this space ths community the people, the interactions and all that....
You rightly said about how hive has really helped some of us here, i understand for a fact that may be due to some financial constraint some of us do power down, which i am really guilty of, but those old account and big guys here atleast well to do off won't understand instead goes on to victimize these accounts not knowing the real reason behind the action to trikle down a bit, which i am also a victim here,...
For the love of writing amd sharing my thoughts i will never stop doing what i love not now or later, hive is such a great place to invest in, time, resouces, ideas, creativity all of that i've got come in handy when the time is right.
For these couples of years i have understood what this place is all about and trust me, here lies my ultimate investment destination...
I am new here, started in February and invested a little bit.
There are some things here, which I don't really like very much.
But there are also a lot of things I like.
And I think Hive is an experiment and I like to be part of this.
So I will look, learn and we will see what the future brings.
Out of interest, what don't you like?
Hive is not really transparent. Example:
What does it mean, why these great difference?
Efficiency? How is it calculated?
Hivewatchers, what are the rules? When do they act, when not?
For new users Hive is where complicated.
I'm not actually sure about efficiency myself - I'm not really a big numbers person haha. @novacanadian might help?
As for Hivewatchers, mainly are looking for people who cheat the system via plagiarism, AI etc but if you go to their Discord you'll find out more. Nothing to worry about if you are doing right thing.
Hive is complicated, I agree. It makes for a really interesting ride though! It's a grand experiment - things do change a lot and you'll learn as you go. Like all social media platforms, it has good sides and down sides, except I think there's way more positives.
There was a big discussion about Hivewatchers a few weeks ago.
Missed that.
Got a link or two?
https://peakd.com/@kryptodenno/posts
https://peakd.com/@kryptodenno
And a few others.